Winter Garden

"You do know what your scent does to me?" Stefanos whispered, his voice brushing against Xenia’s skin like a dark promise. "W-what?" she stammered, heart pounding as the towering wolf closed in. "It drives me wild." —★— A cursed Alpha. A runaway Omega. A fate bound by an impossible bloom. Cast out by his own family, Alpha Stefanos dwells in a lonely tower, his only companion a fearsome dragon. To soothe his solitude, he cultivates a garden of rare flowers—until a bold little thief dares to steal them. Furious, Stefanos vows to punish the culprit. But when he discovers the thief is a fragile Omega with secrets of her own, something within him stirs. Her presence thaws the ice in his heart, awakening desires long buried. Yet destiny has bound them to an impossible task—to make a cursed flower bloom. Can he bloom a flower that can't be bloomed, in a dream that can't come true? ----- Inspired from the BTS song, The Truth Untold.

With flights suspended at airports, Berat tries to escape by car from the harsh Turkish winter and the pain of having lost his wife, traveling with their two children: Ferhat, four years old, and Volkan, two, to Georgia. Unexpectedly, a rock slides across the road, causing it to overturn and leaving Berat and the children trapped by their seat belts. Efé, who was returning from a family wedding, next to his wife and also their six-month-old twin children, did not think twice before parking the vehicle on the side of the road and saving that man and his children. After saving Berat and the boys from death, a strong friendship begins between them, making both sign a Marriage Contract between their children Ferhat and Luna. Twenty-one years pass, Ferhat and Volkan study and graduate in the USA and when they return to Turkey they start working at their father's Automobile Company. Volkan became a famous basketball player, but abandoned his career to be his father's right-hand man in business. His brother Ferhat despite being the eldest son, is nothing more than a seductive bohemian, who will steal the heart of Rabia, the daughter of his father's partner. The beautiful Luna will grow up knowing that one day she will have to marry a man she has never seen, but destiny will cross her paths with Volkan in a charity basketball match, in favor of the homeless of the earthquake, making a beautiful story of love start for them. Never having been touched by a man, Luna will be kissed by Volkan, who will fall madly in love with her. Upon discovering that Luna is his brother's betrothed, Volkan will despair and will do the impossible for the Marriage Contract to be undone and for him to marry in her place.

MORTAL is book #1 in a new paranormal romance series by bestselling author Bella Lore, whose series MY TRUE MATE and THE ALPHA’S MATE have over 500 five-star reviews.. “I couldn’t stop reading.”--Amazon review (My True Mate)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐When her father suddenly dies, Winter Grace, 17, is forced to fly across the country and attend a mysterious prep school, an ancient castle in a fog-covered island on the coast of Maine. Nothing here is what it seems, and it isn’t long before Winter, feeling a surging power for the first time, realizes that she is not who—or what—she thinks she is.But when Winter feels an inexplicable crush for an elusive and dangerous boy at the school, she realizes a greater destiny is at play. She knows the relationship might destroy them both—yet she also knows that they can never be apart.Will Winter sacrifice it all to be with the one she loves?Creating an unforgettable world of vampires, werewolves, shifters and magic of all sorts, a world of fantasy, love and sacrifice, MORTAL will take you to another place, rife with shocking twists and turns. Fans of books such as Vampire Academy and Twilight and Crush are sure to fall in love!Future books in the series are also available."The story was very well written and was unique as compared to other shifter stories.”--Amazon review (The Alpha’s Mate)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Excellent from start to finish and leaves you wanting more.”--Amazon review (My True Mate)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Miles Wright's first love, Faith Green, announces that she's leaving the country on the day he's supposed to marry me. She claims he'll never see her again. He ignores her and continues with our wedding. Even later, when the plane crashes and leaves Faith's body mangled and broken, he merely says coldly, "It was written in her fate." Miles only reveals his true colors after he uses me to become Wright Group's CEO. He moves into a monastery under the guise of wanting to repent for his sins. He has a rosary with him at all times and turns into a man renowned in the city for his piousness and kindness. Meanwhile, he forces me to kneel before Faith's gravestone every night. He also makes me pray and chant for her in atonement. I climb up a long staircase every day so I can pray for her well-being. Finally, I'm tormented to the point of miscarriage, and I die on a snowy winter night. Fortunately, the heavens were kind enough to bring me back to my wedding day. This time, I'm not making the same mistake. If Miles, an illegitimate son, thinks he can use me as a stepping stone, he's wrong! He's not worthy of that!

Join me on this journey to discover how a stoic and cold soldier who had lost all hope after losing his eyesight in battle, falls in love with the person he least imagined - his help.

On my birthday, Connor Simpson's first love jumped off a building due to depression. She died on the spot. Connor blamed everything on me. I never celebrated my birthday again after she died. After the murderer electrocuted me for more than ten hours, they forced me to call Connor. "Connor, it's my 25th birthday today. Can you come over and spend time with me?" However, Connor did not notice anything unusual. His voice was laced with venomous iciness. "Clarisse Winter, Audrey wouldn't have died if it weren't for you. How dare you ask me to celebrate your birthday? If only you were the one who died." I heard him coaxing a woman on the other end just before he hung up on me. That low and gentle tone was what I loved to hear the most in the past. That night, the murderer cut my body into countless pieces, packed them in bags, and threw them in front of the police station. Connor was summoned back overnight. He spent two days and two nights piecing together the body parts, but he did not realize that the dead person was the wife that he hated the most.

everything was going fine in Charlotte's life until one fine winter evening when the word was wrapped in cold blanket, Charlotte got to meet a stranger in the warmth of bookstore who was about to change her entire life. Unaware of the connection she shares with that stranger, Charlotte was happy to have a new friend unaware of his hidden intentions behind that not so coincidental meeting in the bookstore.

Billie is a young she wolf who sticks to herself. As the betas daughter she trains hard daily but not enough to take over for her father one day so the position falls to her twin brother Blaine. At 19 she has yet to find her mate until one night a neighboring pack hosts the Annual Mate Matching. Every year a different pack hosts it. Every unmated wolf 16 and older must attend every year until they find their mate or reach the age of 30. Not really looking for a mate, Billie sneaks off into the beautiful garden only to come face to face with her mates. Will she accept them? Will they accept her?? Follow Billie through her adventures with her friends, family and dominant mates.

Winter is a rebellious 18-year-old werewolf who is destined to become the Luna Queen of the wolves. Her parents have arranged her marriage with another werewolf named Ryker, whom she has never met or knows anything about. Winter doesn't want to marry him; she feels she is too young to be married and wants the chance to find her true mate. Her two best friends, Elena the fairy and Lillie the witch, promise to help her escape her family. Elena was born without wings, something that has never happened in the fairy world, and Lillie struggles to control her powers. If she doesn't learn how to control them, they will be taken from her. Their friendship is forbidden by all their families. The story follows their friendship as they learn about their powers and try to protect each other from the dangers that lie ahead. Will Winter find her mate? Will Elena discover the secret behind why she doesn't have wings? Will Lillie ever gain control over her powers? And most importantly, will their forbidden friendship be able to withstand all the challenges it will face? Together with her friends, she defies expectations and embraces her destiny as not just a leader but as a fiercely independent woman who will shape her own fate.

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing